Dundalk tips: Spirit And Glory can make it third time lucky

From a decent draw, Spirit And Glory should be in the firing line from the outset and, over this one-furlong longer trip, she can see off all her rivals

Fri, 14 Jan, 2022 - 05:00

Tommy Lyons

Spirit And Glory can get off the mark at the third time of asking when she contests the Dundalkstadium.com Fillies’ Maiden, the fifth race on this afternoon’s eight-race programme in Dundalk.

Michael Mulvany’s Cotai Glory then two-year-old showed promise on debut when finishing in midfield behind Knocklane Lass and built on that with a third-place finish behind Almanera next time. There were patent signs of greenness in that second run, which was only a week after her debut, but she has since had four weeks off and can show the benefit of the experience today.

From a decent draw, she should be in the firing line from the outset and, over this one-furlong longer trip, she can see off all her rivals.

Sister Bridge finished a place behind the selection on debut and can do likewise today, while Chargo showed promise on debut and is another worth considering.

If Spirit And Glory and Sister Bridge run well in that race, it will be a pointer to the chances of Barbapapa in the following race, the Book Online At Dundalkstadium.com Maiden. Gelded after a modest debut, Henry de Bromhead’s now three-year-old contested the same race in which Spirit And Glory and Sister Bridget finished third and fourth respectively, and he was just a place further back and beaten just three lengths in total.

That was in mid-December, more than 15 weeks after his debut, and he ought to take another step forward for the run. Both runs to date were over seven furlongs and the evidence of them suggests today’s step up to a mile will prompt further improvement. There doesn’t appear to be much depth to today’s race, and he can make the breakthrough.

Joseph O’Brien has three runners, all of which are of some interest, perhaps most notably The Churchill Lad, who finished sixth on debut. That was in a better maiden than this and with natural improvement he ought to be able to play a hand in the finish.

DUNDALK

Tommy Lyons

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